GameDaze: 'Trine 2' 'The Oregon Trail' and 'NCIS'
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Beautiful visuals that harken to a Tim Burton film create the setting for a continuation of this colorful and interesting puzzle series (Xbox 360, PS3, PC; Atlus; E, for Everyone).
Like with the original, you control a band of three heroes (a wizard, a knight and a thief) through luscious realms, collecting orbs and solving puzzles while trying to rescue a damsel in distress. Each character has a specialty, and while fighting with the knight or leaping about with the thief may be nice, most of your time will be spent conjuring spells with the wizard.
Environmental puzzles are in abundance throughout the forests and caverns you'll traverse. Once you're finished gaping at the wonderfully drawn atmospheres, it won't take long to discover that your mental capacities are going to be put to good use.
None of the puzzles is particularly difficult; rather, "Trine 2" succeeds by having multiple solutions available to many puzzles, allowing you to experiment and discover interesting ways to advance. Sure, you could just levitate that log or redirect that water stream, but discovering a more inventive solution (even if by accident) gives the game a freshness and feeling of discovery.
Some online co-op modes help flush out the game into a more complete package.
As a child in the 1980s, playing "The Oregon Trail" on an Apple II computer was my entry into video games. I've never looked back but never forgotten that glorious game where you pack up your family (or friends) and head west for greener pastures. If a little typhoid came through and took out your annoying little sister, those were the breaks, and you may have gotten a good chuckle from it.
A new version of this pioneering adventure has arrived for the Wii (Wii; Crave; E, for Everyone), and it feels stuck in the 16-bit era of its three-decade-old predecessor. Poor visuals, faulty controls and a severe lack of updating the gameplay mar what should be the modern retelling of a classic.
Much of the original game is preserved: You start off in Independence, Mo., stocking up on supplies and venturing forth into the wild unknown. Trials and tribulations occur, from roaming bandits to broken axles. Disease and injury are regular occurrences, and there's the chance to hunt for wild game to boost food supplies.
None of this is presented or plays well, however. Hunting and gathering is more luck than skill, while visually the game looks drab and lifeless. In the original it was expected because of the limits of technology; now, it comes across as something scraped together with rock-bottom effort.
In the 1800s, families risked life and fortune for the chance to explore the untamed West. "The Oregon Trail" feels akin to riding along with the Donner Party instead of celebrating the American spirit of adventure. For a wittier, more modern take on this classic, I suggest searching the Internet for "The Organ Trail," a fantastic zombie spoof that delivers much more humor and nostalgic glee.
Having never watched an episode of "NCIS," I can't speak to its success or failure as a procedural show about investigating murders and other crimes. As a game critic, however, I can unquestionably deem the video game inspired by the show (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC; Ubisoft; T, for Teen) an unmitigated disaster.
The board game "Sorry!" delivers more drama. The same repetitive investigation techniques, the same easy-to-spot criminals and the comatose-inducing presentation are but a selection of the errors running rampant here.
Four mysteries are presented. Populated by characters from the show, each case can be solved in about an hour. There is zero replay value.
Investigating the crime scenes is a chore; moving furniture, taking photos and other detective-y activities make "Carmen Sandiego" feel like legit sleuthing. Everything is stiff, like the corpse in the corner. Once you get back to the lab for forensic work, you'll need more than just a few chugs of this Caf-Pow drink the Goth tech woman can't seem to get enough of.
-- Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard News Service
First Published January 19, 2012 12:00 am
